anybody made their own tipi

[Gill]

i recently had a tipi / lavvu made by a good friend of mine and it works a treat , however , being made of canvas its really bulky and quite heavy to transport , ideal as a base camp shelter but forget it for a roaming trip . the dimentions are 3.5 m dia and 2.2 m high so very spacious inside . cant remember the techy bit about how he worked out the pattern shape but i do know it used a semi circle of 235 deg . the front seem / door laces together using willow needles first nation fashion.

sounds good buddy u got any pictures.i have also wonderd about the top of a traditional tipi where the poles come through ,about the rain comin in,

 

[dr jones]

i had an eye/ loop sewn into the top of mine which hooks into either a forked pole or a crab can be inserted an the tent suspended from a convenient branch, then the top needle stick hole has a length of para cordin it which you pull tight around the top if the pole seeling it .

 

[red dreads]

Gill,
Some of the natives had a cover on top of the traditional tipi poles called an" ozan", its a wee bit like an upside down coracle(sp?). It stops alot of the rain going inside,but is quite cumbersome and difficult to erect.
Also the poles need to be really smooth(pretty much as smooth as you can get) so the majority of water runs down them ,behind the inner liner,and doesnt drip from burrs or high spots on the poles.It makes a miserable nights sleep if it pours down .
The rope that holds the inner liner up has small sticks under the ropes (around the poles) so the rain reaches the ground, so as the moisture doesnt accumulate and run into the tipi, from the top of the liner

Also the bigger the tipi the further away from the smoke opening you get.Or you can fold over the smoke flaps thus closing the aperature, but it'll probably get smoky if you put fresh wood on .

Hope this helps in your endeavours.

regds Stevie

 

[gorlan]

german firms on ebay selling under 200 pounds,

 

[andywinkk]

Here is mine that i had made in our factory,,NOT BY ME,, by ou very talented seemstreses

 

[Lewis18seven]

That looks awesome Andy . I have been looking around for fabric suppliers and have come across this;

http://www.whaleys-bradford.ltd.uk/product.htm?productID=24

Does anyone know if the 12oz cotton canvas would be suitable to make either the dome or tipi? The untreated one is 108 inches wide so a good size to reduce material needed.

Could I simply treat it with a waterproofing solution?

Cheers
L

 

[Badger74]

12oz canvas should be fine, mine is 12oz canvas in my avatar. Knowing what I now know, after buying normal canvas and doing exactly as your thinking (waterproof yourself). It would have been cheaper buying the waterproof canvas from Whaleys in the first place. They do a waterproof canvas 2m wide for just under £8 a metre (P&P not included).

http://www.whaleys-bradford.ltd.uk/product.htm?productID=826

Many re-enactment tent firms make bell tents that may be suitable for you. Try:

http://www.pasttents.com/

I'm looking at them for a large ridge tent for £200. I've worked out that if I bought all the material and did it my self, it wouldn't be much cheaper.

 

[helixpteron]

Here's an interesting first sewing project 'Make Your Own Gear' Tipi, which is 7' 4" high, has a 12' base and weight 3lb 7oz in total!

 

[kiltedpict]

Ooooh, that's nice! I like that a lot.

Cheers.

KP

 

[kipperfeet]

Is that the one made up from my hellsport tipi Andy? Not seen it since the devepelopment stages as i had to a bit of a disapearing act some time ago! Looks good!